It’s the last day of the regular session, and political analyst Clancy Dubos looks at what passed and what didn’t. Halen Doughty has more…
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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Legislation to require pet stores to keep records of breeds’ names and addresses, along with licensing information is on the governor’s desk to be signed into law. Emelie Gunn has more…
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The number of Louisiana homes at risk of storm surge damage has gone up by over 40-thousand since last year, according to CoreLogic. Jeff Palermo has more…
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State lawmakers have approved a 26-billion dollar budget for next fiscal year that does not fully fund the TOPS scholarship program and hospitals that provide care for the poor and uninsured. House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says the spending plan is not perfect, but they can address gaps in the budget in a special session that begins tonight…
Because of a 600-million dollar revenue shortfall, the budget also contains cuts to public schools, universities, prisons and child welfare programs. Henry says under this plan TOPS would be funded at 48-percent…
Cut 5 (05) “18-hundred dollars” (2x)
The senate approved the budget on a 35-2 vote, but the vote was much closer in the House, 63 “yeas” and 38 “nays”. Baton Rouge Representative Barry Ivey voted against it, because health care and higher ed are underfunded…
Cut 6 (06) “less than 50-percent”
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The regular session must conclude by 6pm tonight. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says Governor John Bel Edwards had a hard time getting key pieces of his legislative package through the legislature, like the bills for equal pay for men and women and increasing the minimum wage.
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Dubos says there were some victories for the governor. He says the budget lawmakers passed is close to the one he first proposed. Also, a bill that increases the age to 18 for which a person can be tried as an adult was approved.
Dubos says the governor is feeling pressure to veto a bill that gives patients the ability to see a physical therapist without a doctor’s referral. He says a strong majority of lawmakers voted for the bill, but Edwards is hearing from the opponents of the measure.
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A bill that would require pet stores to keep records of breeders’ names, addresses, and licensing information is on the governor’s desk to be signed into law. Alicia Haefele with the Louisiana SPCA says also included under this legislation is that no pet under 8-weeks old can be sold in a store. She says these regulations are to make ensure pet stores are held to certain standards.
Haefele says these regulations do not apply to animals up for adoptions from shelters. She says another big part of this legislation is pet stores are required to keep records on their dogs and cats for at least two years.
Haefele says the main target of this legislation is to stop puppy mills from selling sick puppies who have been living in unsanitary conditions.
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The number of Louisiana homes at risk for storm surge damage has increased since last year, according to CoreLogic. Senior hazard risk scientist for CoreLogic, Tom Jeffery says that has a lot to do with new homes being built along the coast.
Cut 13 (07) “about everywhere”
According to CoreLogic, last year there were just over 760-thousand hones at risk in Louisiana, and that number has grown to over 800-thousand. CoreLogic’s report says the cost to rebuild all those homes would be $184 billion. Jeffery says despite the danger, he doesn’t see construction slowing along the coast anytime soon.
Almost 7 million homes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are at risk of potential storm surge damage this year. Florida has the most homes at risk, followed by Louisiana. Jeffery says the potential for storm surge is one of the most dangerous things about hurricane season.
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The Ragin Cajuns are one win away from advancing to the Super Regionals after UL Lafayette easily defeated Arizona 10-3 yesterday afternoon. Sophomore left-hander Gunner Leger won his 7th game of the year as he threw five innings and allowed three runs…
At the plate, Stefan Trosclair drove in three runs and hit a home run. Kyle Clement scored three times. Brian Mills and Brenn Conrad each drove in two runs. Robichaux is well-rounded effort…
(The Cajuns will face Arizona at 1 PM. UL Lafayette needs one win to advance, Arizona needs two.)
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LSU starting pitcher Alex Lange struck out 10 hitters to help lead the Tigers to a 4-2 win over Rice. The victory puts the Bayou Bengals into the championship round of the Baton Rouge regional. Lange threw eight plus innings and only gave up two runs. Coach Paul Mainieri says it was an impressive outing from his sophomore…
Not an even rain delay could slow down Lange. The game was halted for about an hour in the 6th inning, but Lange returned to put a couple more zeros on the scoreboard…
LSU’s offense came in the 1st inning on an inside-the-park grand slam by Greg Deichmann. The Tigers first baseman smoked a ball down the right field line and it got stuck underneath a bullpen bench, which allowed the three base runners and Deichmann to come on home…
(LSU will play the winner of today’s game between Southeastern Louisiana and Rice at 7 PM.